Denso withdraws bar code scanners from U.S. market

Company plans to focus on Auto-ID markets in Asia and Europe

By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 8/16/2007

Denso brand bar code scanners are no longer available in the U.S. market. TD Scan, the business unit responsible for marketing Denso’s automatic identification products in North America, is closing its operations at the end of September and has already stopped accepting new orders.

The majority of TD Scan’s U.S. customers are automakers using Denso two-dimensional bar code imagers in their manufacturing processes and convenience stores using Denso scanners at point-of-sale, according to spokesman Dan Diliberti.

While the company’s North American auto-ID business has fallen on hard times, Diliberti says, Denso’s auto-ID products are selling well in Asia and Europe. The company is pulling out of the North American auto-ID market, he says, to better focus its resources on its Asian and European business.

Denso began marketing its bar code scanners in North America just five years ago, says Diliberti. Sales were good for the first several years, he says, but the “landscape changed recently.” In particular, he says, competitor Symbol Technologies was acquired by Motorola. In addition, Denso’s last development cycle was too long, he says, and the company’s latest round of products came out behind the rest of the market.

Denso scanners will be available through a channel partner for about the next 12 months to give customers time to find replacements for their Denso products.

Bar code scanners and other auto-ID products make up only a small portion of Denso’s business. Denso is a $30 billion global supplier of automotive technology, systems and components.